Pontificate in Blessed Virgin's hands

Pope Francis and his work consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima

Pilgrims attend a candlelight vigil at the Marian shrine of Fatima in central Portugal. CNS photo / Rafael Marchante, Reuters.

At the Holy Father's personal request, Cardinal Jose Polycarp, the Patriarch of Lisbon, consecrated the pontificate of Pope Francis to Our Lady of Fatima on her feast day. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Other stories recently posted to the site include:

Teachers should not make a god out of providing tests constantly for their pupils, but rather guide their students to discover their faith. Dr. David Wells, the Director of the Vicariate for Formation in the Diocese of Plymouth, England, gave this message at an education conference in Whitehorse April 25-27. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

David Bereit, founder and national director of 40 Days for Life, shared some tips with pro-life high school students on how to convert abortion workers to the pro-life cause. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Pupils score funds for Brazilian soccer club

St. Thomas Aquinas students kick-start donations of training gear, equipment to Sao Paolo

Luke Harris (left), Kiara Machry, Lucas Wagorn, Amy Crawford, Brooke Marklund, and Matthew Callaghan, all Grade 8 students at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary who helped contribute, hold up soccer jerseys that will be donated to a group in Sao Paolo, Brazil, called the Soccer Club. Special to The B.C. Catholic.

A local Grade 8 group, 13-14 years old, has undertaken to deliver brand new soccer equipment to a group in Sao Paolo, Brazil, called the Soccer Club. The local teenagers, from St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary in North Vancouver, are led by Lucas Wagorn. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Other stories recently posted to the site include:

As he looked ahead to Pentecost, coming May 19, Pope Francis spoke about the Holy Spirit's role in guiding Christians to know Jesus, Who is the Truth, in an age of relativism. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

One of the most powerful forms of social justice is adoption, because it unleashes purpose, love, and mercy, says Ryan Bomberger, co-founder of the Radiance Foundation. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Pro-life cause continues to advance

Director optimistic about outcomes of Motion 408

Conservative MP Mark Warawa speaks at the March for Life in Ottawa this year. His
motion against sex-selective abortion was deemed non-votable in March. (Photo: CCN)

Motion 408, Mark Warawa's non-binding motion against sex-selective abortion, was struck down by a House of Commons sub-committee in March. The MP decided to introduce a new bill rather than appeal the decision.

But Mark Penninga, the executive director of the Association for Reformed Political Action, does not see this as a loss for the pro-life movement.

Our immediate reaction may be disappointment. What good did all of our petitions and letters do if the motion never even came to a vote, let alone passed? But step back, look at the facts, and be encouraged. Motion 408 has had a momentous impact on advancing pre-born human rights in this nation.

Penninga gives six effects of the motion that, he believes, should leave supporters optimistic. Read the full blog post on weneedalaw.ca here.

Cardinal Collins warns against gambling

'False Eden' promised through addiction

(Caption: Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto processes out of the papal conclave's opening Mass in St. Peter's Basilica March 12.

Alistair Burns / The B.C. Catholic)

Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto recently spoke to Vatican Radio about society's growing dependence on gambling. He said gambling itself is not inherently evil; however, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the problems that can arise from widespread addiction to blackjack and other games of chance.

“First of all, it can lead to injustice,” he says. “There are numerous issues where people gamble away the grocery money and cause distress in their families.”

Listen to the interview here.

The prelate has also released a pastoral letter on Gambling, Gaming, and Casinos for the Archdiocese of Toronto. The full text of that letter is available on the Archdiocese of Toronto website.

Read the pastoral letter here.

One-child policy causes reign of terror

Horror of female gendercide driven home during National March for Life

Reggie Littlejohn speaks at the May 9 Rose Dinner. Deborah Gyapong / Canadian Catholic News.

Deborah Gyapong of Canadian Catholic News reports that participants in this year's National March for Life May 9 came away equipped with a new awareness of the horrors of female "gendercide." For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Other stories recently posted to the site include:

Pro-life speaker, broadcaster, and best-selling author Michael Coren will speak May 18 at a Ridge Meadows Pro-Life Society dinner meeting on his perspective of the debate. Abortion, euthanasia, and family are among the topics he will cover. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

When news of the guilty verdict of first degree murder for abortionist Kermit Gosnell broke, pro-life leaders welcomed his conviction, while calling for a closer look at the abortion industry as a whole. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Surprise! I'm really here!

Popemobile trip surprises March for Life participants

Pope Francis waves from the popemobile at the end of a canonization Mass. The same day, he appeared in his popemobile at the March for Life. CNS photo / Tony Gentile, Reuters.

Pro-lifers who had just finished the third annual Italian March for Life on Sunday were surprised to see Pope Francis coming toward them in the popemobile. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Priests and laity have come to study for centuries at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, nicknamed the "Angelicum." Theology professor Father Robert Christian, OP, puts the university's motto, caritas veritatis, or "the charity of truth," into action. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

This year's National March for Life in Ottawa May 9, which drew the largest crowd ever, framed abortion as a human rights issue damaging especially to women and girls. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

No to the wall

U.S. bishops oppose re-routing of Israeli-Palestine separator

Christian leaders pray in front of the Israeli separation wall near Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, West Bank, in 2010. CNS photo / Debbie Hill.

The U.S. bishops have criticized an Israeli plan to re-route a separation wall through the Cremisan Valley in the West Bank, claiming such a move would harm both Christian families and religious orders. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Other new stories on the BCC website include:

A unique relationship between the Squamish tribe and St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School has materialized in an invaluable piece of artwork. The unveiling and traditional brushing ceremony of the carving were held April 23. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Anyone who has ever attended an organ recital knows that no good concert is complete without stilettos. At least, that's according to hot and humorous duo "Organized Crime," whose Betty and Veronica good looks, costumed antics, and serious musical chops are turning the organ world on its head. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Satisfy all desires

God's living water does just that, Pope proclaims

Pope Francis exchanges skull caps with a young girl after arriving for his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 8. CNS photo / Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo.

The Holy Spirit is the "living water" that fulfills our lives because He tells us "we are loved by God," Pope Francis proclaimed. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.


"Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children" is a documentary about children forced either to fight as soldiers or to become sex slaves and "bush wives" during conflicts in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.


Chaplains at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) scrambled into action for the airport's largest-ever emergency exercise April 17. A multi-faith contingent consisting of a Roman-collared clergyman, a Jewish rabbi, Muslim volunteers, and the Salvation Army gathered for a preparation summit before a simulated airplane crash. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Seminarian to be ordained to diaconate

All invited to celebrate with Nicholas Meisl May 10

Nicholas Meisl chats with Sister Mary Jacinta, OP, on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations April 21.
Meisl was instituted in the ministry of acolyte that day. (Agnieszka Krawczynski / The B.C. Catholic)

Seminarian Nicholas Meisl will be ordained to the diaconate May 10. All are cordially invited.

"My vocation is the greatest gift that God, in His love for me, has given. It is a radical call to imitate Jesus, love Him with my whole heart and spend my life serving His people," Meisl has said.

Meisl, 32, calls St. Peter's in New Westminster his home parish. He has studied at Simon Fraser University (for an engineering degree), the Seminary of Christ the King, and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, more commonly known as the "Angelicum," in Rome.

His ordination takes place at Holy Rosary Cathedral at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 10. Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, will celebrate.

Recognizing 25 years

Missionaries of Charity mark 25th anniversary of their arrival in Vancouver

Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, celebrates the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the Missionaries of Charity in Vancouver April 27. Agnieszka Krawczynski / The B.C. Catholic.

Agnieszka Krawczynski of The B.C. Catholic newspaper reports that it has been 25 years since Mother Teresa and seven sisters arrived in Vancouver carrying cardboard boxes and spreading support for life and the poor. Four of them stayed in this city to create a long-lasting impact.

"We owe a great deal to the Missionaries of Charity," stated Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, at the anniversary celebration April 27. He praised their remarkable efforts in the Downtown Eastside.

"The wounds of Jesus are still present in His people, and those wounds need to be taken care of," he said, thanking the Missionaries of Charity for tending to the injuries of homelessness, hunger, and imprisonment here for a quarter of a century.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Who needs fetal stem cells?

Doctor calls stem cell surgery on toddler revolutionary

Kyoto University Professor Shinya Yamanaka of Japan in April 2009 and John Gurdon of Britain in London Oct. 8, 2012. The two shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for the discovery that adult cells can be reprogrammed back into stem-cells which can turn into any kind of tissue and may one day repair damaged organs. CNS photo / Kyodo and Suzanne Plunkett, handout via Reuters.

The doctor who helped transplant a windpipe grown from a child's own stem cells said the procedure supports Catholic moral teaching while at the same time helping to "revolutionize medicine." Catholic News Agency has a story:

On April 9, Hannah Warren, age 2 and a half, underwent an intensive nine-hour surgery to install an artificial windpipe grown from her own bone marrow to correct a birth defect that left her unable to breathe, eat, swallow, or speak on her own.

Rather than using "life-destroying stem cells" Dr. Mark Holterman of Children's Hospital of Illinois, part of OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, said the experimental procedure upholds the hospital's mission of providing for the sick with the "greatest care and love" while also respecting Church teaching on the sanctity of human life.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

To kill or not to kill has become a question

Opponents of euthanasia step up campaign in advance of May 18 March

A crucifix is carried in procession across the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City during the Eucharistic Congress in 2008. There will be a march of a different kind in the city May 18. CNS photo / Mathieu Belanger, Reuters.

Opponents of euthanasia have launched the "Killing is not Care" media campaign in Quebec in advance of a May 18 March on Quebec City. Deborah Gyapong of Canadian Catholic News reports:

The campaign includes a professionally produced television spot in English and French that shows ill patients in hospital with captions that read: "The most vulnerable need our protection," "Only 30 per cent of patients have access to palliative care," "Medical aid in dying is killing," and "Killing is not care."

"Together, Living with Dignity and the Physicians' Alliance for Total Refusal of Euthanasia seek to build awareness around the risks inherent in legalizing physician-assisted death," said a May 5 news release from the Physicians' Alliance. "The Quebec government is working on a bill to legalize 'medical aid in dying' which really amounts to nothing else but euthanasia."

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

So-called 'Hipster Jesus' ads beckon in Brooklyn

New York City diocese's campaign to show Church's 'cooler side'

The Diocese of Brooklyn commissioned the "Original Hipster" ad, a tongue in cheek reference to Christ's radical message.
(Photo credit: Diocese of Brooklyn) 

The Diocese of Brooklyn's new advertising blitz to bring the faithful back to the pews has caused a stir in the New York City borough. Newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and Great Britain's The Daily Mail have reported on the so-called "Hipster Jesus" campaign.

"Jesus, like hipsters, stood against mainstream culture,” said Monsignor Kieran Harrington, the vicar of communications for the Diocese of Brooklyn.

"It's important that people know that no matter who they are, everyone is welcome in church on Sunday.”

But not all Catholics are on board. Some believe the ads might water down the faith.

Right-to-lifers get writing

Students win Webb essay prizes

People carry a large banner during the National March for Life in Ottawa May 10, 2012. This year's march will take place May 9. CNS photo / Art Babych.

The winning essays in the Grades 11-12 section of the 2012-13 Patrick Webb Essay Competition pointed up the contradiction of society affirming the dignity and rights of women while condoning the destruction of female preborn infants through the unbridled use of abortion. Ross Labrie, the president of the North Shore Pro-Life Society, contributed a special report to The B.C. Catholic.

First prize winner ($300) Joyce Deduque, who is enrolled at the Traditional Learning Academy, asked what attitude society would take if the death penalty were reinstated, but only for females. Such is the distorted reality involving the many female infants whose lives are ended by abortion each year simply because they are females.

Second prize winner ($200) William Maedel, a student at L.A. Matheson Secondary School in Surrey, argued that south Asian women in Canada were especially likely to seek abortions of female offspring even though this is at odds with the gender equality professed by Canadian society.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Provincial election primer

Voters have to telephone or email political offices

Vatican firefighters secure a smokestack on the roof of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican March 9. This method of releasing voting results is more picturesque than what will be used in B.C. May 14. CNS photo / Paul Haring.

When Catholic British Columbians cast ballots for provincial election candidates May 14, what principles should weigh most prominently in their minds? By Alistair Burns of The B.C. Catholic reports:

"People call me up and ask, 'Whom should I vote for?'" said John Hof, the head of United for Life B.C. He always responds, "Who are the candidates in your riding?" Most of the time the callers don't know the answer.

One Green Party candidate said the official party policy is pro-choice. The New Democratic Party mandates that its candidates be pro-choice. John Cummins of the B.C. Conservative Party, although himself pro-life, when asked in Kelowna what he would do in connection with the abortion issue replied nothing; it was a federal matter. The Liberals have said it is entirely up to candidates to vote their conscience on the abortion issue. The B.C. Christian Heritage Party is most probably a pro-life party.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

A fetus just may be human

Supreme Court's Levkovic decision says unborn baby is a child for purposes of law

Woman explains developmental stages of unborn baby at pro-life seminar in Manila. CNS photo / Romeo Ranoco, Reuters.

An unborn baby is a child under the law if likely to be born alive, says the Supreme Court in its May 3 Levkovic decision. Deborah Gyapong of Canadian Catholic News reports:

That's the crux of the court's unanimous decision that orders a new trial for Ivana Levkovic, a former stripper who left the body of a nearly full term baby girl in a bag to decompose on her apartment's balcony. Levkovic had been charged with Section 243 of the Criminal Code that makes it illegal to conceal a delivery of a pregnancy whether the "child died before, during, or after birth."

The trial judge had acquitted Levkovic because it was impossible to determine when the baby had died. He had also struck the word "before" from the law, but the Appeal Court reinstated it. The Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court's decision.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Arrest made in Canadian missionary's death

Brother Richard Joyal fatally shot in Port-au-Prince

Items that belonged to the late Brother Richard Joyal, who was killed in Port-au-Prince April 25.

(Photo credit: Dieu Nalio Chery / Associated Press)

Haitian police have made an arrest in the case of the fatal shooting of a Marianist brother April 25.

Brother Richard Joyal, 62, had just withdrawn $1,000 from a bank in Port-au-Prince when two men on a motorcycle confronted the Marianist.

The passenger shot Brother Joyal three times and then left the scene.
Haitian authorities later found the cash in the brother's wallet.

Brother Joyal had been on a temporary mission in Haiti.

Whimper not: Pontiff

Good Christians don't whine about suffering, Pope says

A nun prays as Pope Francis leads the rosary at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome May 4. CNS photo / Tony Gentile, Reuters.

Reflecting on how St. Paul endured pain for Christ, Pope Francis said that good Christians do not complain about their trials but endure them with patient silence because their hearts are at peace. Catholic News Agency tells the story:

A Christian "who constantly complains, fails to be a good Christian: they become Mr. or Mrs. Whiner, no? Because they always complain about everything, right?" the Pope remarked in his May 7 homily at St. Martha's residence. The Christian response to suffering is "silence in endurance, silence in patience," he stated.

During his Passion, the Pope noted, Jesus "did not speak much, only two or three necessary words ... But it is not a sad silence: the silence of bearing the Cross is not a sad silence. It is painful, often very painful, but it is not sad. The heart is at peace."

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Prostitution issue back in court

Groups prepare to intervene in case before highest judicial body

When the Supreme Court justices pose for a photo, a lot of red and white shows up. This is the 2009 stable. CNS photo / Adrian Wyld, Reuters.

The Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal of Canada's prostitution laws June 13. Several groups are prepared to argue against decriminalization on moral grounds. Deborah Gyapong of Canadian Catholic News reports:

The Catholic Civil Rights League, REAL Women of Canada, and the Christian Legal Fellowship will make a joint submission, as they did at both the trial level and at the Ontario Court of Appeal.

"We're very glad our application to intervene was accepted," said Catholic Civil Rights League executive director Joanne McGarry, who noted the three groups had been the only interveners on moral grounds when the prostitutions laws were being challenged in the lower courts.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Worst attack yet

Caritas official: bombing of new Tanzanian parish the most serious incident

People gather near the scene of an explosion at St. Joseph Mfanyakazi Catholic Church in Arusha, Tanzania. CNS photo / Reuters.

 

Catholic News Agency reports that, according to a top official with the charity Caritas Tanzania, a Sunday attack on a new Catholic parish was the first of its kind for the East African country.

"It is not normal and this has never happened in our country before," said Joachim Wangabo, executive secretary of Caritas Tanzania, in a May 6 interview with CNA. "The government says it is associated with Muslim terrorists, but it is necessary to know why it happened."

The attack happened May 5 as parishioners were beginning a Mass to officially open the new Saint Joseph's Catholic parish in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.